Graduate Study Expo

Master of International Sustainable Tourism Management

Welcome to the Master of International Sustainable Tourism Management program

The Monash Graduate Tourism Program offers students the choice of two master’s: Master of International Sustainable Tourism Management or Master of Tourism.

Sustainability represents an increasingly influential facet of tourism planning, development, governance and management. Students in this program take similar core units to the Master of Tourism students, however they are also required to complete electives from the fields of Sustainability or International Development.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is forecasting that the growth rate for emerging economies will be double the rate of advanced economies in the years leading to 2030 and that a sustainable industry can play a significant role in the achievement of the millennium development goals.

This course addresses tourism’s potential to be compatible with the achievement of a range of objectives, including developing sustainable tourism practices. It facilitates the development of skills and techniques to develop tourism policies and practices in a global setting and to manage tourism development and enterprises in the direction of more sustainable practice.

International relevance and practical experience

As a student in Monash’s Graduate Tourism program, you will have the opportunity to engage with the industry and participate in study tours and field schools both in Australia and overseas.

Experiential learning, international field schools

The program includes regular industry presentations from senior industry executives and site visits to destinations within Melbourne, regional Victoria and other Australian destinations, including Sydney.

In keeping with the course’s strong focus on emerging economies, you will also have the opportunity to attend an international field school in an emerging economy such as Fiji or Vietnam.

Research-led teaching

As a postgraduate student in the tourism program, you will have the opportunity to be taught by academic staff members who are widely regarded as research pioneers in the field of high-yield, independent travel/backpacker travel and the associated impacts on urban tourism and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

International industry internship program

Our program has excellent international networks and partners and you may wish to participate in an international student exchange semester at one of our prestigious partner universities in Sweden, Estonia or Latvia.

High-achieving students will be invited to apply for an international internship program in Estonia via the Estonian Business School (EBS).

Our postgraduate courses are designed to meet the needs of students who have recently finished their degrees, individuals entering the industry for the first time or current industry professionals looking at furthering their career opportunities.

What our alumni think

Our graduates have found employment in government and private sector tourism organisations or have become young entrepreneurs establishing their own firms both in Australia and internationally.

“The Graduate Tourism Program at Monash University was quite seriously the greatest career decision I could have ever made! At the completion of the course, I was able to secure full-time work with Tourism Victoria in their London Office.”Breda Darmody

“The networking opportunities I gained through the tourism program helped me to secure my current position at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Spain, where I am involved in a number of international projects relating to sustainability, corporate social responsibility and public private partnerships.”Jo Devine

“I was fortunate enough to study in Estonia for one semester, where I researched the effect of international tourism on this emerging tourism destination. This valuable learning opportunity was a great finish to a truly unique postgraduate program.”Andrew Meek

“Upon completion of the tourism course, I was able to gain an internship and then a full contract with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the department of Press and Communications in Madrid, Spain.”Sarah Leaman

“During my time as a student in the Graduate Tourism Program, I benefited from gaining a greater understanding of the structure and dynamism of the global tourism industry. Upon my return to China, I found a job quite easily as a marketing director for an inbound adventure tourism operator.”Lu Na (China)

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Introducing your tourism academic staff

Our academic teaching staff members are innovative researchers and established industry professionals.

Dr Agnieszka Sobocinska is Deputy Director of the National Centre for Australian Studies. Agnieszka is an historian with research specialisations in the cultural history of Australian-Asian relations, the history of travel and tourism, the cultural history of international affairs, and the history of foreign aid and development discourses.

Dr Jeff Jarvis has extensive research and consultancy experience in tourism development, and has undertaken research projects in association with professional tourism organisations in Australia, Sweden, Vietnam, Cambodia Fiji, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Kenya and Spain

Dr Vicki Peel has significant research experience in association with industry partners such as Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria, City of Melbourne, Tourism Mildura, Parks Victoria, Local Government bodies, including the Victorian Goldfields region, and the National Trust.

Dr Joseph Cheer is currently Associate Director of the Australia & International Tourism Research Unit and his current focus is on tourism and sustainable livelihoods in the South Pacific region. Prior to joining Monash, Joseph worked in the international development field in the South Pacific as part of a tourism industry capacity building and training project funded by AusAID.